I’m starting the week off a little differently than normal today, folks! In an effort to talk myself through some of the challenges I’m facing and maybe share some of my insights with you, and not to mention kicking the Monday blahs, I’ve decided to start a little series I’m calling Monday Motivation. In this, you’ll find tidbits of inspiration that I’ve come across, some of the current challenges I’m facing, and maybe an inspirational story or two. I hope you enjoy, and as always, I’d love to hear your feedback, so do drop me a line and let me know what you think!
On Monday, or any day when we’re going to begin something momentous, we easily end up feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the obstacles ahead of us. We look at that full week of work, that project to be completed, that fitness goal we want to achieve, whatever it might be, and it all starts creeping in. “I can’t.” “This sucks.” “It’s so much WORK!”
We all have those moments when we wake up, see the enormity of what lies before us, and just want to roll back up in the covers and not only hit the snooze alarm, but whack the alarm clock with a hammer. Those moments like to happen a lot on Mondays since not only are we facing all the house projects and life goals that we’d like to take on, but most of us are heading back to work on top of it. So not only are we looking at those steps to our goals, but we’re looking at the other things we have to take on simultaneously.
Me, too – after all these days of vacation, I’m heading off to a new job. It’s unknown territory – new people, new location, new responsibilities, new all-of-that. On top of that, I have this house with a growing list of things we’d like to do and things we, well, kind of have to do {it’s old, that happens}. Oh, and I’d like to seriously, seriously, put some effort into getting back in shape. And I’d like to figure out how to restart my photography business and get this blog up to speed, too.
I’m looking at a lot of steps and a lot of tasks. It’s like I’m asking myself to run up those steps while carrying a super heavy pack and juggling dinner’s ingredients while reciting the alphabet backwards. Okay, maybe not that bad, but seriously.
Just take the first step.
With any task, you have to know all the steps are there, but you’ll never get started if you look at all of them at the same time. I learned this during my cadet basic training. After the first day, looking at six more weeks of “Beast Barracks” was enough to make me want to sit down and throw a good old-fashioned temper tantrum. I had to learn to look at the gigantic obstacle one step at a time.
So with a day, with an obstacle, with a project, with any task, you have to start with Step One.
Step One is whatever you start your day with. Is it a coffee and a glance through the morning news? Is it grabbing your phone and checking your social media updates? Is it stumbling to the shower to power-wash away the sleep? Is it that morning run that shakes the cobwebs out of your brain and gets it going?
For me, my Step One, the way I face pretty much every day, is to keep my eyes closed for just a moment and take a deep breath. The yogis call it getting centered, the spiritual call it a moment of communion, I call it just a moment to appreciate being and to find something, anything, to be happy about. Then I make myself smile.
Just the physical act of smiling, if you do it enough, is enough to trick your brain into thinking you’ve got something to be happy about {which chances are, you do!}. That pause for a deep breath is enough to get the blood flowing just a little. And it’s a chance, a decisive chance, to face the day with a positive attitude.
I’ve just bitten off the first part of the day. With that success behind me, I just take the rest, one step at a time.
The rest will follow.
If your Step One, whatever that is, starts you off with a positive attitude, the rest of the day/week/project is a heck of a lot easier to tackle. After that, with every step you take, keep doing it. Keep focusing on that positive attitude, and don’t let yourself get derailed if some of the steps are harder to take than others. Don’t let it throw you if you have to back up a couple of steps, or take a breather. It happens. But if you step back or stop, then start again with Step One. Find that moment where you can appreciate yourself and the world around you, and make yourself smile.
Then hit it again, one step at a time.
This Week…
My Focus Points
I’ve got a lot of things to tackle this week toward all of my overall focus areas – to improve my mindset, work, home, fitness, and life – but as with anything, those are a lot easier if I take them a step at a time. As I do with my day, starting with Step One, I break them down into bite-size chunks.
Here are five little things I want to focus on this week:
- Mindset Goal: remind myself to feel gratitude that I live in paradise, don’t get daunted by all the tasks
- Work Goal: get all of my in-processing tasks fully complete by Friday
- Home Goal: patch all the holes in the wall and pick out paint colors with Scott
- Fitness Goal: implement a morning stretching/yoga routine prior to doing anything
- Life Goal: thank my husband for all the hard work he’s putting in on the house, make sure he feels appreciated
I already did a nice quick yoga routine this morning and subbed out green tea for my usual coffee, so I’m feeling pretty darn ready to tackle the day! We’ll see how I do with these goals this week!
How about you?
Do you have any goals set for this week? Anything you’re going to focus on? Comment below or post a link – I’d love to hear what you’re up to and how you’re tackling your challenges! If you’re looking for more ideas on little things to tackle to improve your life, check out the Weekly Wishes link-up at The Nectar Collective!
Here’s all my best wishes for a great week!